Chronicles of a modern day Levite

Volume 1; Issue 1

 

A special Sunday, a united purpose.

 

            They are all there, some talking, others praying, still others simply waiting to begin. We are preparing, united in the back hall, talking quickly, reminding each other of what we are about to do, putting aside the things that may be bogging our minds and hearts and getting ready to pray.

            Any and all conflicts amongst us are put aside; all annoyances outside of us are put aside as we clasp hands to pray simply to ask God to use us to lead the congregation into worship. We pray that God have his will, that he move in the midst of the hearts and all those who are there. We can here the service beginning as we reach the end of our prayer, ending with thanking God for the drummer, the violinist, the guitarist and the keyboardist, thanking God for giving us the gifts and talents that he has given us.

            We head back to the sanctuary, take our positions at our instruments and begin to play. The mood is one of rejoicing and celebration as the day happens to be Easter or to some, resurrection day. Panning from right to left over the congregation, I see familiar faces and some unknown to me, but in the faces I can see such a range of feelings. Feelings ranging from stressed to blessed and knowing it, upset, peace, anger and love. As I become aware of it all, I simply think “God, move in this place, change the hearts, allow us to be your instruments”.

            The music begins, the praise and worship begins. The music just begins to flow, the lyrics flow through and immediately, the atmosphere is transformed. The songs, ranging from English to Spanish, combine as one big praise and worship. In the midst of the whole time, you can see the enthusiasm of the people and also the change taking place because of the change of atmosphere. The atmosphere becomes so thick with Gods presence to the point of being able to hear the voices of angels as they begin to sing along and you can feel the energy in the air as the praises and worship goes up and Gods presence comes down.

            The session comes to a close, with the ambience so full of God’s presence. We slowly trail the music off and put our instruments down. The stress of the moment is over and we are ready to sit and receive God’s word. What began with a list of possibly difficult drum beats, reminders to be aware of each other and the constant need to stay focused on that we are there to lift God’s name up, ended with the feeling of having overcome all the atmospheric opposition and all our own personal stumbling blocks and got to feel God’s amazing presence.

            That Sunday may have started with some stress and worries, but it ended with victory and blessing. Nothing stood in our way and we marched forward with the very purpose that drives us; we are Levites, separated and devoted to worshipping God.

 

In the next issue, the week goes by, but the worship never ends…

 

-EliW